Half a dozen leading consumer, Latino, and low-income groups – including Consumer Action, the League of United Latin American Citizens(LULAC), the Community Action Partnership, the National Consumers League, and the National Grange– today issued a joint statement criticizing recent actions by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC).

The full text of the joint statement reads as follows:

"In late October 2013, the Georgia Public Service Commission imposed a $5 fee on the estimated 785,000 low-income state residents using the federal Lifeline wireless program. We, the undersigned, want to send a clear signal that: (1) the Georgia PSC should reverse this punitive, anti-consumer fee; and (2) no other state should follow Georgia in attacking the pocketbooks of low-income Americans in this misguided fashion.

We join together in noting the following:

1. Georgia's new fee on Lifeline participants flies in the face of the goals of the program. Enshrined in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the Lifeline program's purpose is to ensure that all qualifying Americans have the opportunities and security that phone service brings, including being able to connect to jobs, family, and emergency services. Ironically, the program does not use funds from Georgia or any other state; thus, any possible savings from squeezing low-income consumers out of the program would not impact state-level taxpayers. 
2. To date, no other state has seen fit to charge its low-income consumers this kind of fee.
3. A monthly fee of this sort was explicitly rejected by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when it was considered. The FCC identified no merits to such an approach and found evidence that it would both violate the universal access aims of the program and unfairly harm low-income consumers.
4. There is no evidence of any kind that suggests imposing a monthly fee on wireless Lifeline users will result in reduced fraud or less abuse of the program. Similarly, there is no factual basis for claiming that such a fee will somehow result in better sales practice conduct on the part of Lifeline wireless service providers.
5. Reforms of the federal wireless Lifeline program are already addressing concerns about waste in the program. The National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD), designed to help carriers identify and resolve duplicate claims for Lifeline Program-supported service and prevent future duplicates, is going online in five states this month. Georgia will begin participating in the database in January 2014.

In sum, we strongly oppose the Georgia Public Service Commission's decision to impose a regressive$5 fee on Lifeline program participants. This represents one of the most direct attacks on low-income consumers in recent memory. We urge the Georgia Public Service Commission to reconsider its regrettable decision. Further, we stand prepared to work together in opposition to any other state that might adopt an approach similar to the Georgia PSC."

The joint statement is signed by: Consumer Action; the Community Action Partnership; the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition; the National Consumers League; and the National Grange.

The full text of the letter is available online at http://bit.ly/condemningGAPSC.